Services

France

Facts

Background: Although ultimately a victor in World Wars I and II, France suffered extensive losses in its empire, wealth, manpower, and rank as a dominant nation-state. Nevertheless, France today is one of the most modern countries in the world and is a leader among European nations. Since 1958, it has constructed a hybrid presidential-parliamentary governing system resistant to the instabilities experienced in earlier more purely parliamentary administrations. In recent years, its reconciliation and cooperation with Germany have proved central to the economic integration of Europe, including the introduction of a common exchange currency, the euro, in January 1999.Location:

'The ayatollahs have been bolstered by American threats, but soon they’ll have to deal with a tidal wave: women demanding their rights,' Martine Gozlan reports in an article for Paris' Marianne magazine.

They have no idea, but taxpayers in rich countries are financing massive, and often controversial, construction projects abroad. WPR France correspondent Brent Gregston reports on efforts to hold the lending agencies accountable.